MARION, Ind. --- The second-highest scoring game in school history did not go as the University of St. Francis football team would have liked as the Fighting Saints came out on the short end of a 65-31 decision to NAIA No. 16-ranked Indiana Wesleyan University on Saturday afternoon. The contest wrapped up Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) crossover-game play for the season.
For the fourth time in five games, the Saints opened strong, putting the first points of the game on the board. They came on a kneeling
Mason Hackman catching a 28-yard pass from
Nathan Maul in the end zone to wrap up a six-play, 57-yard opening drive.
All that did was upset Indiana Wesleyan, which was already coming off a 52-42 setback to NAIA No. 19 Marian University (Ind.) one week earlier.
The Wildcats (3-2) responded by scoring on each of their first four offensive possessions and seven of eight series (six TDs, one field goal) with a 58-yard interception return for another touchdown mixed in. That resulted in a throttling 52-10 home lead just a little over two minutes into the third quarter. USF's only answer during the whirlwind was a career-best 46-yard field goal from
Adrian Guerrero 85 seconds into the second quarter.
Indiana Wesleyan would finish the contest with 620 total yards of offense compared with 402 for the Saints, who had a 12-minute time-of-possession advantage and ran seven more plays (73-66). IWU recorded 434 yards through the air, which was its second-highest output in school history.
Arjun Lothe led the Wildcats' passing attack, completing 19 of his 28 attempts for 355 yards with three touchdowns. Isaac Smith was the main target with seven catches for 150 yards, including a pair of scores. On the ground, Cameron Morrison reached the end zone three times among his 11 carries, which went for 85 yards.
The two teams exchanged touchdowns over the final 18 minutes of the game beginning with a
Gavin Day (8 carries, 44 yards) eight-yard run and ending with a Maul three-yard dive. In between,
Ryan Little caught a 17-yard touchdown pass.
Little had a big afternoon, authoring both a career-high nine receptions and 148 yards receiving.
Larry Stringham led the rushing department with 12 carries for 52 yards. Maul was 16-for-34 through the air for 254 yards, but did throw three interceptions against the two touchdown passes. He added another 24 yards on the ground on nine carries.
Defensively,
Michael Hackman tallied double-figure tackles for the first time in his collegiate career. He finished the day with 12 stops.
Karsen Hansen collected another nine.
Notes: The highest scoring game in school history was a 61-55 triple-overtime loss to Allegheny College (Pa.) back on Nov. 13, 1999 … Little's previous game highs were his six catches versus Madonna last week and his 93 yards versus Taylor University (Ind.) in Week 1 … Guerrero, who booted his fourth field goal in a row, has now made all but one of his kicks this season. He is a perfect 22-for-22 on PATs and 4-of-5 on field goals … For the fourth time in five games, the Saints finished with over 400 yards of total offense … St. Francis has scored in each of its last eight quarters and 13 of its last 14 … The 620 yards allowed by USF's defense were the most since giving up 630 vs. NCAA I Sacramento State University (Calif.) on Sept. 1, 2018 … The 434 passing yards allowed were the most in 15-plus years … In each of its last two games, USF has been called for double-figure penalties resulting in 100-plus yards of loss.
Up Next
The Saints have next Saturday off before hosting rival Saint Xavier University in two weeks (Oct. 18) to begin MSFA Midwest League play. Kickoff is set for 1 pm at Joliet Memorial Stadium.
You can keep up with everything happening around USF Athletics on X @USFSaints.
